Mood: The emotional atmosphere expressed by an author in his/her work; the dominant impression of the feelings of the listener, observer, or reader.
Tone:
The writer's attitude toward his readers and his subject; his mood or moral view. A writer can be formal, informal, playful, ironic, and especially, optimistic or pessimistic.

Tone:
"Araby" features a tone of depression and gloom. The way that James Joyce uses his descriptions of settings and characters enhances the somberness of the stories. However at times, there are overtones or segments of dialogue that become hopeful and almost cheerful. As the story progresses, the main plot takes a turn to the brighter side upon the author’s description of the boy’s infatuation with his friend’s sister. For example, in the line "Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance" (16), we see that Joyce vividly portrays the cheerfulness and the bliss when the young boy is watching his friend’s sister. Later on though, when the boy reaches the bazaar as it is shutting down, the tone takes a turn for the morose and leads the reader to the pinnacle of a young boy’s epiphany and subsequent disillusionment. It ends on a somber note, with the narrator standing in the dark bazaar as it shut downs.

Mood:
The mood conveyed in "Araby" is a bleak one. The boy’s mood and the external surroundings were in sympathy with each other. For example, at the end of the day when the stalls were closing down and there was not enough time, an external mood that was in harmony with his inward mood was evoked. At the start of the story, the mood is lively and joyful, with images and descriptions of love and beauty in the form of Mangan's sister. But later on when he awaits the return of his uncle, a mood of anticipation and worry is conveyed. When the boy's uncle finally arrives home, and the boy departs for the bazaar, the mood takes a turn for the pessimistic. The contrast between the underlying themes of depression and the brighter thoughts interlaced within is an integral part of "Araby". When the narrator experiences his epiphany, we are left with darkness and realization that he experiences, and the mood ends as dark and depressive.
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Plot Characters Setting Theme Diction Perspective Literary devices

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